


A Father's Regret

by Heavenly_Pearl



Series: Spirit of Fire and Other Side Stories [3]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Manga), Sailor Moon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-04
Updated: 2012-05-04
Packaged: 2017-11-04 19:53:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/397597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heavenly_Pearl/pseuds/Heavenly_Pearl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hino Keitaro skips out on Rei's special birthday dinner due to work commitments.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Father's Regret

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon is the property of Takeuchi Naoko.
> 
> This is a side story for "Spirit of Fire", taking place shortly after the end of Chapter 8. It was written for the sm_monthly community at Livejournal - Theme: Single Parent.

Returning to his office after the Assembly meeting, Governor Hino Keitaro sighed and took off his glasses as he plopped down in desk chair. Finally, after weeks of negotiations, the transportation strike that had been plaguing Tokyo had officially ended, thanks to his newest budget proposal. By next week, the Tokyo transportation system would be up and running again, ending over a month of traffic jams and road rage.

Keitaro should have felt proud of himself, but the victory rang hallow. He couldn't forget that it was because of the damn strike negotiations that he had been forced to break his dinner date with Takara the night that she died. The last words he had ever said to his wife were those of a broken promise, words that he would once again have to say when he called his daughter to apologize for not making her special birthday dinner.

He should have called Rei days ago, to be honest. He had known almost immediately after promising her that he would not be able to make it to dinner on her birthday due to the Assembly meeting, but Keitaro had kept putting it off, dreading to hear the disappointment that was bound to be in Rei's voice - the same disappoint that he had heard in Takara's that fateful night.

Had it really only been a couple of weeks since her death? Somehow, it seemed much longer than that, yet the pain was still as fresh as an open wound.

"Oh, Takara…"

A knock on the door startled Keitaro from his thoughts. "Come in," he said, straightening his back and placing his glasses back on his nose.

The door opened, and Kaidou Ace, one of his interns and the grandson of Keitaro's mentor, came in. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, Hino-sama," Kaidou said with a respectful bow. Coming in further, he handed Keitaro a manila file folder. "You asked for these reports?"

"Oh…yes. Thank you." After flipping through the folder to make sure all the information he needed was there, Keitaro set the folder aside. "I appreciate you staying late to find them for me. I'm sure you must be busy with your studies."

"I didn't mind. Do you need anything else?"

Keitaro shook his head. "That's all for tonight, Kaidou-kun. I was just about to head out myself."

"Oh, right, today is Rei-chan's birthday, isn't it?" he remembered, smiling. "When I called her this morning to wish her a 'Happy Birthday,' she mentioned that the two of you had plans for a special dinner. She seemed quite excited about it."

"She did?"

He nodded. "Yes, I think it's probably the first time since her mother died that Rei-chan's actually looked forward to something," he said, looking down at his watch. "It's a bit late, though, isn't it? I imagine it's close to her bedtime."

Not wanting to admit to Kaidou that he was canceling his plans with Rei, Keitaro pretended to look over one of the reports. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kaidou-kun."

Kaidou got the message. After the intern left, Keitaro set the paper aside and rubbed at his forehead, dreading making the phone call to Hikawa more than ever.

Rei had actually been looking forward to their dinner? When he had suggested it, she hadn't seemed very enthusiastic about the prospect. They had never been especially close, not even when Takara was still alive, so Keitaro assumed it wouldn't be that big of a deal that he cancelled. She would be disappointed, of course, but now…

Shaking his head, Keitaro reached into one of his desk drawers and pulled out his address book. It was high time he stopped procrastinating. As Kaidou had pointed out, it was nearing Rei's bedtime, and she at least deserved a phone call from her father on her birthday. He owed her that much. After finding his father-in-law's number, he took in a deep breath and dialed.

The phone rang three time before an unexpected voice answered.

"Hello, Uchizawa speaking."

"Minoru?" Keitaro looked down at his address book, wondering if he had accidentally dialed his best friend's number by mistake. "I'm sorry. I was trying to call Hikawa, but I must have -"

"No, you have the right number, Keitaro." Minoru's voice was uncharacteristically cold.

"What are you doing at Hikawa? Where is Kondo-sama?"

"I came by for Rei-chan's birthday," he said. "I think the more pertinent question is where the hell are you? According to Kondo-sama, you and Rei-chan were supposed to have dinner together."

Keitaro sighed. He was not in the mood to get in another fight with Minoru. They had only just recently gotten back on good terms after the argument they had about Rei moving to Hikawa. "The office. There was a special meeting of the Assembly to discuss the transportation strike. I just got out fifteen minutes ago."

"Wait a minute. The Assembly meeting? You've known about that for weeks. Are you telling me that you promised Rei-chan that you would take her out on her birthday when you knew damn well that you had a scheduling conflict?"

"I didn't do it on purpose," Keitaro said. "When I made those plans with Rei-san, the Assembly meeting had completely slipped my mind. It was an honest mistake."

"Yet you are only just now calling to cancel?"

"Minoru, put Kondo-sama on the phone. I don't want to go through this again with you."

"No, I will not," Minoru said. "You know, after what you told me the day Rei-chan moved here, I was willing to consider that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea for her to live with Kondo-sama for awhile, at least until you worked through your grief over Takara-san's death. I wasn't happy about it, but I could understand why you didn't feel like you could be a proper father to Rei-chan on your own. But this! It's her birthday, and all Rei-chan wanted was a special night with her father. Was that really so difficult for you to do?"

Keitaro had no answer to that. If he had really wanted to, he probably could have rescheduled the meeting, or, failing that, taken Rei out to a late lunch after school, but a part of him had been grateful to have the excuse not to see the little girl who looked entirely too much like her mother.

He hated that part of himself.

Minoru seemed to realize how he felt, for when he spoke again, it was in a softer tone than before. "Hey, look, it's not too late," he said. "I'm sure Rei-chan and Kondo-sama have already had dinner, but come by the shrine anyway. Miyuki told me she brought by one of her famous chocolate cakes earlier. We'll have some cake and watch Rei-chan open her presents."

"I-I didn't get Rei-san anything." He had been so caught up in dealing with the strike, he had completely forgotten about buying Rei a present - not that he had any idea what she wanted, anyway. Takara had usually taken care of things like that. "I…didn't have the time.".

He really was a terrible father.

"That's okay," Minoru said, his voice lowering to a conspiring whisper. "I kind of went overboard with the presents this year, so you can just put your name on one of mine. I bought her this beautiful porcelain doll the last time I was in Paris; I'm sure Rei-chan will love it."

Keitaro briefly considered the offer. He knew Minoru was right, that he should at least stop by Hikawa on his way home to wish his daughter a happy birthday in person, but something stopped him from agreeing. He just wasn't ready to see Rei again.

"It's getting late, Minoru," he finally said, "and I have some work I need to catch up on, now that the strike is over. I don't think I can make it tonight. Will you please put Kondo-sama on, so that I may explain the situation?"

"I'll put Rei-chan on the phone," Minoru said scornfully, losing any sympathy he might have. "If you insist on disappointing her, then at least have the balls to do it yourself!"

Keitaro grimaced as he heard Minoru set down the phone to call for Rei, a little louder than necessary. He couldn't exactly blame Minoru for being angry with him, though. Everything he had said was true. He was nothing but an utter failure as a father.

A short time later, a small, girlish voice on the other end of the line said, "Otou-sama?"

It took all of Keitaro's willpower not to hang up; even Rei's voice reminded him vaguely of Takara's. "Happy birthday, Rei-san," he said. "I…I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it tonight. I had an important meeting with the Assembly, and it ran much longer than I thought it would."

"It's okay. I know how important your job is."

How many times had Takara said almost those exact same words when he had had to cancel their plans? Probably too many to count.

"I'd like to make it up to you, if I can," Keitaro continued after a short pause, remembering how he hadn't even bought her a birthday present. She at least deserved something from him. "Is there something special you want for your birthday? Money is no object. Ask for anything, and I'll get it for you."

"You don't have to get me anything," Rei answered in a soft voice. "Really, it's okay. I understand."

"Are you certain? There must be some doll or book or something you want."

"Ojii-san, Watanabe-san, and Uchizawa-san got me everything I wanted for my birthday. I don't want anything else."

"Oh, I see." He knew Rei was lying, because Minoru had told him she hadn't opened any of her gifts yet, but Keitaro didn't push the issue. There was nothing material he could get her to make up for his shortcomings as a father, anyway. After clearing his throat, he said, "Well, then, I should probably let you go. I'm sure it's nearing your bedtime, and I have work I still need to do. Goodnight, Rei-san."

"Goodnight, otou-sama."

Rei hung up first. At the sound of the dial-tone, Keitaro sighed and placed the receiver back in its cradle, accidentally knocking over a picture frame in the way. He picked it up, his heart aching when he saw that it was their one and only family portrait, taken a couple of years ago at Takara's insistence for Christmas cards.

Would he and Rei ever find a way to be a family again, without Takara in their lives?

Not wanting to think about the answer, Keitaro opened his bottom desk drawer and tossed the picture inside.

Out of sight, and out of mind.

That was the only way he could go on living with himself.


End file.
